Behind Every Lie
by YuukiHatake1234
Summary: The death of someone special is always devastating...


_Disclaimer_: I do not own the anime or manga _Naruto_. If I did though... muahahaha!

_Warning_: Rated M for Mature. Language, violence, and sexual themes will be in this fan fiction. Homo and heterosexual romance (mostly homosexual, but lets be safe, eh). Character death.

_Author's Notes_: One of my own characters will be in this fan fiction. So please do forgive me if the name sounds new to you. Also, please don't flame me about the character death! The character that dies is actually one of my very favorites. I had to in order to squeeze in mine... I'm so greedy.

_Summary_: The death of someone special is always devastating, but in some cases, death can lead to brighter days. Mysteries and danger await, but with a new team member, can they all work together in harmony or will there be chaos?

Chapter One

Naruto stood there and stared at the lifeless body on the bed before him. Tears ran down his scarred cheeks that he tried to stop with his hands, but failed miserably. He glanced over to his sensei who quietly shifted from foot to foot waiting for him and Sasuke to finish saying their goodbyes.

Sasuke didn't have emotion on his face, as usual, but his eyes gave his emotions away. Sure, she might have been annoying as Hell and almost as useless as Naruto, but she still was a close friend. His sorrow was intensified due to the large number of losses he had already went through when he was younger. Now with the untimely death of a friend and team member, he was on the verge of tears out of frustration and self hate.

Naruto was the first to break the intense silence.

"Why did you try to be the hero? Why? Kakashi said... said to stay put." Naruto pounded on the wall closest to him; nearly punching in a new window for the hospital room.

That had done it. Tears begun to leak from his eyes, and Sasuke decided to voice out his own opinion.

"If only I was faster. She wouldn't be like this if I was faster!" Sasuke pulled his hands into fists. He turned his head away from the corpse and closed his eyes to prevent the flood of salt water from going any further down his face.

With both boys in tears, Kakashi walked over to them and pulled them close to him and each other.

"Just remember, she sacrificed herself to save us all. So lets not yell at her with such anger, okay? She died without pain, and she was happy that both of you had no serious injuries." Kakashi said with soft kindness. He ruffled both of their hair and pulled them away from Sakura's body toward the door.

Once outside of the room, he released the boys and let them walk together, holding hands for comfort, out of the hospital. He waited outside of the room for a few more minutes before he looked over his shoulder.

"Rest in eternal peace, Sakura. Thank you for your bravery." Kakashi placed his hands inside of his pockets and walked out of the hospital with a single tear caught in the corner of his eye.

The funeral was held a few days later. Not as many people showed up to Sakura's funeral like they did when the third Hokage died, but a lot of ninjas and civilians attended for either her honor or they simply knew her. Her father and mother were the first to walk up to their daughter's casket and place lotus flowers on the ground before the casket. Then, one by one, everyone else went up to the casket to mutter a goodbye or to thank her for her friendship. When it was Naruto's turn, he placed a pink lotus flower, wrapped in a simple green cloth on the ground.

"I'm sorry for not saying this to you a few days ago, but thanks for everything. From bruising punches to our friendship, thank you. I'll miss you, a lot." Naruto wiped his face clean of tears before he walked back to his place beside his sensei.

Kakashi smiled down at Naruto and patted his back. He leaned down to Naruto's ear.

"Very sweet of you, Naruto. She would have smiled at that." Kakashi whispered.

Naruto smiled too and nodded his head in agreement.

Soon after, the funeral quickly ended. Everyone begun to filter themselves away from the graveyard to their everyday lives. Kakashi told Sasuke and Naruto to follow him to a nearby bench and sit down.

"I want to tell both of you some news I heard yesterday." Kakashi begun, he waited for the boys to look up at him before he continued. "The next Chuunin exams are to be held in six months in Kiri, and I was wondering if you boys might be interested."

"I am, but how are we to attend the Chuunin exams a team member short?" Sasuke said with confusion in his voice.

"Yeah, without Sakura, we can't sign up." Naruto added. He looked down at his feet and kicked the dirt.

"That was another thing I wanted to tell you. There is a young lady that graduated the Academy around the same time you two did. She wasn't paired up with a Jonin sensei or team due to the number of those that graduated. A few friends of mine that are in the ANBU told me about her. They said she would be a great replacement for our team. So, what do you say, do you want her to join our team or is it too soon?" Kakashi asked. He wasn't going to force them to accept a new team member if they thought otherwise. A death of a team member is hard to recover from; but he hoped that this could shed a small light in their dark times.

They sat thinking quietly for several minutes. Kakashi waited for them with practiced patience; he hoped he didn't offend them.

Naruto looked past Kakashi to Sasuke. He chewed on his lower lip and shifted around so that his upper body faced Sasuke.

"I think it is a little soon, but whoever this girl is, it sounds like she needs a team. What do you say? I would like to meet her." Naruto spoke out softly. He felt a little sick to think they would find a new team member that quickly, but he really wanted to sign up for the next Chuunin exams. _Sakura would want us to... _Naruto thought to himself a few moments ago. _She would be happy..._

Sasuke sighed aloud. It was a complicated subject. He badly wanted to go to the next Chuunin exams, but their team strategies and attacks were going to be changed due to Sakura's death. Also, a new team member could bring up problems later on. Sasuke thought hard about it, very hard. There were a lot of negatives, but there were also positives. For example, if this new team member was more skilled than Sakura, then that could make fighting against enemies a lot easier. Plus, whoever she was could make training a lot more interesting. No more was he going to fight just Kakashi or Naruto anymore; he hoped.

Finally, Sasuke nodded his head.

"Sure, I'm actually quite interested in how she's going to react to having a team to work with." Sasuke cracked his knuckles to relieve some stress he built up.

Kakashi stood up and ran a hand through his hair sluggishly.

"Great, I'm happy to hear that both of you, for once, came to an agreement. I'm also interested in how she's going to react too." Kakashi waved a goodbye before he vanished in a whirlwind of leaves.

"Sasuke..." Naruto started, but paused to scratch his head. "Do you think that was a dumb idea? I mean, what if... what if this doesn't work out?"

Sasuke rubbed his hands together and sighed.

"I was thinking the same thing, but we have to at least try. What if it does work out? Maybe this time, we could pass the Chuunin exams." Sasuke said in his usual tone.

Naruto pulled his eye brows upward and blinked. Did he hear that right?

"Wow, you're talking... positively. And here I thought you weren't able to think or say anything positive."

That earned him a chuckle. Sasuke turned around and grabbed Naruto's hair.

"I was also amazed that you could use such a big word. Did it hurt when you said 'positively'?" Sasuke earned himself a punch to the back. Naruto swatted the raven's hand off and walked away, and pretended to be mad at Sasuke.

As Naruto walked away, Sasuke stole himself a quick glance of Naruto's ass. No one, except Sasuke himself, knew that the last Uchiha was homosexual. When Sasuke first discovered his sexuality, it scared him. He tried to deny it, but as time went on, he couldn't stop the surge of pleasure he got when he thought of males. Another nail to the coffin was when he tried to picture himself in bed with a female, and it sent a shiver of disgust down his back. He wasn't bothered of it now, in fact, he accepted it without shame.

Kakashi appeared in front of the ANBU headquarters and was greeted by an old friend, Genma. Not a lot of people knew of Genma, nor did they know that he hosted the third exam in the last Chuunin exams. It didn't bother him though, being a part of the ANBU meant that one's identity was a secret.

"Hey, it's been a while, Kakashi. How did those kids handle her death?" Genma shook Kakashi's offered hand with warmth. He recently returned from a four month long mission, but had heard from villagers that Sakura had died while in battle.

"They are still upset, but they are willing to have a new team member added soon. I was told yesterday that there was an Academy graduate that needed a Genin team waiting here." Kakashi answered. He did note how strange Genma was acting. Usually, after such a long and dangerous mission, ANBU members were more tense.

"Oh, you must be talking about Takashi, Mizu. She's a great kid, no doubt, but the poor thing never knew a life beyond those walls." Genma pointed with his thumb toward the ANBU headquarters behind him. "She was found, abandoned at birth, in a village near by here. The civilians that found her couldn't raise her, so they gave her to an ANBU for adoption in Konoha. The ANBU decided to just keep her here, and all of us are her adopted family."

Kakashi whistled the tune used for surprise and shook his head. He couldn't remember seeing a child running around when he was an ANBU, then again, he was gone most of the time

"Sounds rough, could a child really live here?"

"Oh yeah, she's happy here. It's just she's been depressed recently because she wasn't picked to have a Jonin sensei. Not that she needs one."

_That was an odd choice of words... _Kakashi stood there and tried to figure out why Genma would say what he said, but he couldn't think of an answer.

"Why not?" Kakashi questioned slowly, he felt something was wrong.

Genma nearly laughed. Mizu could probably kick his ass if she wanted to.

"Use your head, Kakashi. She was raised here, and after she graduated from the Academy, a few ANBU volunteered to train her when they had the free time."

Kakashi was stumped. Trained by ANBU members? By the sound of it, this child could do more than just basic jutsu.

"Then why does she—."

"Because she needs to train with kids here age. Poor thing acts more mature than some of the adults here. She needs to go out and explore the world and be a damn kid for once." Genma interrupted. "Also, just because we trained her, doesn't mean she has weaknesses. She has difficulty with taijutsu but can easily work on ninjutsu and genjutsu, so I guess someone had watched you train your team and everyone agreed that she would fit there better." Genma finished with a loud sigh and rubbed his neck. "Eh, sorry 'bout that, Kakashi. I just get defensive whenever someone questions Mizu. Plus, that last mission has my nerves on edge."

Kakashi nodded. It seems like he's loosing his touch, but, as he thought about it, Kakashi never paid attention to minor details.

That was also going to have a new spin to things. It sounded like Mizu could handle herself quite well, but would she be able to handle his requirements for a team? Mizu probably had to train herself when no one was available... which brought up another question; did anyone know how many jutsu she had or of what rank? She could actually be dangerous, even though she was a Genin.

"There just minor questions I want to ask, Genma." Kakashi crossed his arms over and leaned forward a bit.

"Yeah? What is it?" Genma shifted his body weight backward. Just what in Hell did Kakashi want?

"Do you or anybody know what kind of ninjutsu or genjutsu Mizu taught herself if any? I'm hoping you say yes, because I'll be damned to be the one to find out or worse. If she attacks either Sasuke or Naruto with any jutsu above C-rank, I'll have your head mounted to my wall." Kakashi glared rather harshly toward Genma. No one told him she was trained by ANBU nor that she had practically lived her entire life surrounded by ANBU. With a death already on his hands, again, he would do everything in his power to not have either of those boys harmed because of a mistake he could have prevented.

Genma relaxed but he was ready to run for it if he needed to.

"Kakashi, honestly, I don't know what she taught herself, nor do I think anyone else would know. I'm sorry, but it's the honest truth."

Kakashi sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Now I don't know what to do. I do want her to join our team, but I'm afraid she might accidentally hurt one of us, badly."

"Just ask her, no one had asked her before, so she might be willing to tell. But, Kakashi, I know you have some jutsu that no one else knows about. She'll need it, you just need to remember that even Sasuke or Naruto will have something rather dangerous up their sleeves too." Genma looked over at Kakashi who sighed in defeat. "Well, enough of this silly talk, let me go up and get Mizu down here. She'll be so happy to know that she's going to have a sensei."

Genma ran toward the ANBU building and disappeared inside it. Kakashi stood alone for several minutes before Genma returned with a girl, who was smiling; a smile that could challenge Naruto's.

Her braided raven colored hair was pulled up into a high pony tail which bounced from side to side with every step she took. Ice blue eyes sparkled with joy and long eyelashes brushed her high cheek bones. She wore simple cargo shorts and a blue t-shirt; around her ankle was a bracelet made of chakra beads and small sea shells. When she giggled, it sounded like a song bird chirping happily. Her body frame looked fragile, almost doll like. She could have fooled anyone into believing she wasn't a ninja, but with the Hidden Leaf headband wrapped around her head, it gave her away.

"Kakashi, this is Takashi, Mizu. Mizu, this is your Jounin sensei, Hatake, Kakashi." Genma introduced them. He patted Mizu's shoulder and took a step back.

"Hiya, Kakashi-sensei, it's nice to meet you." Mizu offered her hand which Kakashi gladly shook.

"It's nice to meet you too, Mizu." Kakashi was surprised how friendly the girl in front of him acted. "I just want to ask you a few questions."

Mizu giggled again and shrugged her shoulders.

"Ask away. I have questions for you too, but since you are the sensei, you go first." Mizu studied the Jounin's face, well, what parts were exposed. She could never understand why some ninjas covered their faces. To her, masks were itchy and got in the way. _Wonder what happened to his eye... _That was another thing Mizu could never understand, headbands were made to protect the forehead and identification. So why would ninjas have their headbands in odd places like that Hyuuga girl she saw a month ago? What if she got caught in a tree branch, would it choke her to death?

"I'm leaving you two alone, I need to turn in these reports." Genma waved a rather heavy looking envelope. He patted Mizu on the head before he vanished in a cloud of smoke.

"Alright, first question. When you were training alone, did you teach yourself any jutsu that is above C-rank?" Kakashi crossed his arms over his chest again. He noticed Mizu drew in her lower lip into her mouth and begun to chew on it. She looked down at her feet then back up to Kakashi.

"Yeah, but only one. It's a B-rank genjutsu; I won't use it on my team mates." Mizu said while she raised her hands. "Honest, I only use it as a last resort."

Kakashi lowered his arms. Now he felt better, he was expecting something more to the likes of A-rank ninjutsu.

When he relaxed, Mizu lowered her arms too. She didn't like how Kakashi changed his personality so quickly. She made a mental note to watch for any signs of Kakashi changing his mood. A happy Jounin would make her more at ease.

"Well, with that cleared, do you have any problems if you are the only girl on the Genin squad?"

Mizu giggled and shook her head.

"No, I don't have any problems at all. I say, bring it. I love challenges." She beamed another bright smile. "Boys don't scare me at all."

"Good, good. Last question, do you have any jutsu elements that come easy to you?"

"Yeah, two actually. I'm water and wind based, but don't be fooled, I know how to use other elements too. I just need to learn them."

Kakashi smiled now too. Sasuke and Naruto were really going to be pleased. Naruto could learn something from Mizu, since he was wind based too. Also, Sasuke would have a fun challenge fighting Mizu.

"Wonderful. Now, you wanted to ask me some questions too?"

Mizu nodded. She was thrilled to hear that Kakashi approved of her elements. Perhaps her new teammates either had the same elements or they had elements that would challenge hers. She couldn't wait to meet them, she hoped it was soon.

"Two questions, first, when do you start training again?"

With a smile, Kakashi placed a hand on her head. Her hair was surprisingly soft for someone with such dark hair. Even this close, he couldn't make up any highlights that would make her hair shine as it did.

"Tomorrow I planned, but I wanted to make sure it was okay with you first."

She smiled brightly again and nodded so hard it made her ponytail whip around like a rope.

"Perfectly fine with me! In fact, I'm really glad I get to meet them so soon!" Mizu calmed herself down with a sigh. "What time and where do I need to be tomorrow?"

Kakashi chuckled. He didn't expect this reaction from someone raised and trained by the ANBU. She reminded him of Naruto in a way, well, several actually. The attitude, the happy atmosphere that clung to her, and that smile for sure. She also reminded him of Sasuke too. The way she picked her words to say carefully and that hair of hers, but without the blue tint to it.

"Ten am, sharp at training grounds 8. You might be new, but I don't want slackers."

"Gottcha! Ten am. Sharp. Training grounds 8. See you then!" Mizu waved goodbye and ran back to the ANBU building.

Kakashi shook his head in amusement. She acted so much like Naruto, it was almost ridiculous. And to speak of Naruto, he need to tell the boys the good news. With a puff of smoke, he vanished.

It was around eleven pm before he managed to reach his apartment. Kakashi told him that the new team member was going to meet them tomorrow at their usual spot. He wondered who was going to get there first. Sakura was there first most of the time, but would this new girl be like Naruto? Sasuke hoped she wasn't.

Naruto talked so damn much, but he couldn't blame him. Sasuke was also excited about meeting this girl that Kakashi seemed to approve of. From what Kakashi told him, she was going to be a great sparing partner for ninjutsu. Bonus, she could teach Dope a thing or two; maybe. Naruto seemed to be a little offended when Kakashi mentioned it, so he might be difficult to work with.

Sasuke glanced over to the alarm clock and yawned.

"Better get some sleep, I'll need to get there 'before' ten o'clock." Sasuke changed out of his suit and simply dropped down onto the bed.

Chapter One End

**Notes**: I hoped you liked this story so far! Don't forget to review, okay? Also, remember, I love ideas. If you have an idea for _Behind Every Lie_, please tell me in a review. To my _Eternal Dawn_ fans, don't give up! A few months ago, I had to completely wipe out the hard drive to my desk top and I stupidly forgot to save the _Eternal Dawn_ chapters onto a flash drive. So in all, I'm trying to find loose sheets of paper that I scribbled my chapter ideas onto. I'm hoping the next chapter of _Eternal Dawn_ will be posted before July...


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